Glycolysis in rat neostriatal slices following kainic acid injections.

In in vitro incubations, kainic acid-lesioned neostriatal slices from rat brain showed decreases in oxygen consumption (50%) and in the conversion of both [1-14C]glucose (43%) and [6-14C]glucose (69%) to 14CO2 as compared to controls. The elevation in the C1/C6 14CO2 ratio suggested the pentose phosphate pathway was less affected than the Embden-Meyerhof path in kainic acid-injected gliotic tissue. Increasing the potassium concentration from 6 to 50 mM caused increases in oxygen consumption and glucose utilization in both control and kainic acid-lesioned neostriatal slices; this is consistent with, but not conclusive of, a potassium-stimulating effect on glial as well as neuronal metabolism.